Second Son
This story was original when I started it, but I think by now the idea would have been used somewhere else as well. Please tell me how I can improve this and whether I should bother finishing it off.
When Bridger finds his son, his joy is short lived when an enemy threatens both Robert and Lucas....
Bridger stood over his young grandson as he slept quietly. He eventually pulled his gaze away and shut the child's door. He sighed tiredly and walked over to the computer in the main study room. Switching it on, he thought back to his beloved family. The child in the next room gave him a renewed sense of hope, and this afternoon he believed he may have found some answers to his son's disappearance. Deeply buried files that he'd been able to draw up through various contacts, some as important as section seven, suggested that his son had accepted a position which meant that his life at the time was to be erased. His name, status, file, all traces of Robert Bridger were gone. Nathan's son was declared deceased. This also explained why the body had never been recovered. Nathan assumed that Michael had been born after Robert discovered that his father was 'dead' and considered it safe enough to attempt a normal life by having a family. What on earth could have convinced him to makes such a sacrifice?
Nathan pondered over the whole deeply disturbing situation, fumbling with a small disc which he inserted into the drive. After a few moments, the section seven encoda appeared on the screen. He began a search for 'Robert Bridger'. This new information did not all add up. Three months after Robert had been declared deceased, his signature had been applied to several documents. It wasn't his son's name that had been signed but forensic scans showed that it was definitely his hand writing. Nathan shut his eyes in frustration when he found that there was very little information about which documents had been signed. However, it was obvious that they had certainly not been signed through section seven. In fact, it appeared that the content that Nathan could find was almost anti-section seven and although of a military nature, not UEO. There were specific links to the media and cover-ups of attempts to expose various section seven projects. The signatures were the only indication of Robert's activities. Nathan carefully took note of the small time newspaper location which was linked to several of the unidentified documents. He shakily removed the disc and tossed it into the old fashioned open fire. His body tingled with excitement and fear as he drew closer to finding his long lost son.
General Dante Vishnore nervously twisted his fingers behind his back as he spoke to one of his agents. "Are you sure that's what his name was?" his voice slightly uneven.
The response of the agent made it clear that nervousness was very out of character for the General, "Of course sir, the sources were very specific. It appears that Nathan Bridger has been receiving information regarding the disappearance of his son."
"And what of the contacts?" He demanded, his usual intimidating and booming demeanour returning.
" They are being dealt with, sir."
"Good. Does Agent Eltherington know any of this?"
The agent appeared very confused, "No sir, he doesn't work in this division."
"Yes, I know. But see to it that he does not even receive a hint of this information," he ordered, then as an after thought, " And have him and his wife transferred."
"Yes sir."
Vishnore moved over to the com and called upon an unknown source. "Alright, I've spoken with the agent in charge over the problem. It appears that the very source I used to blackmail Eltherington is making trouble. See to it that no one aside from you or I learns Eltherington's real name. He is much to valuable agent to lose, and knowledge of the way he came to agree to join in the first place may be the end of us. It has been too many years just to throw away all our work." Vishnore smiled, "But in case we can't play them off one another for long, I've done some digging and I have a little.....back up plan."
Lucas gave a sigh of apathy. There was barely any activity on the bridge as the borders they were patrolling were quiet. Lucas' excitement registered in his flat, bored tone.
"I'm hungry." At the terminal next to him Loni, busily attempting to flirt with the temporary Lieutenant Zach Biggs, didn't look at him, "Yeah, well, I'm sure you can go to lunch soon."
Lucas became agitated, realising that he had no one to talk to.
Biggs strolled over to her giving her his 'super-hero' grin, "Careful," he whispered, " with a smile like that you might loose your virginity some day." Obviously he was provoking her. Ford over heard and looked up from where he was standing near the captain's chair, obviously unimpressed, glaring at Loni, daring her to flirt back. Loni responded by adjusting her posture so her breasts protruded provocatively.
" So," she said sweetly pretending to pay more attention to her terminal, " You think that I'm a virgin." Lucas was annoyed at having such sickening adult games displayed out in front of him.
Rudely, and unexpectedly Lucas stated, "Of course she's a virgin," he stared pointedly and cockily at Biggs, "she's an only child."
The response Lucas received was of a mixture of shock ranging from unimpressed to amused. Loni was shocked into muteness, but recovered to turn red with embarrassment.
Commander Ford was not in the mood for Lucas' attitude, but before he could correct him O'Neill interrupted him, "Captain on the bridge". The relaxed mood stiffened as Hudson made his way over to Ford.
"I've just had a call from MaGath. It appears that Mr Bridger has requested our assistance...," Hudson stated and then added in an irritable tone, " yet again."
"What's it about, sir?" Lucas asked from his station, ignoring his captain's last two words.
"It appears that he has found his son." Hudson stated. Lucas' face light up. A feeling of pleasant suprise arose in the air. Hudson's face revealed a pleasant expression as he left the bridge. Although he was some what annoyed that Bridger was continuously involving his crew in private vendetta's, he was pleased for him, the positive assignment should hopefully draw away some of the grimness of the tour which is just what they all needed.
"I'm sorry I can't help you. We had an agent of this organisation trying to find information on this topic about 15 years ago. If you like I could give you his name and you could speak to him."
"Oh that would be fantastic, thankyou."
Nathan had made his way into the editors office posing as a reporter from another, more prestigious newspaper. He had asked about the old articles regarding Robert's original disappearance.
The man moved over to his desk and took out a piece of paper and a pen. Bending over to write he said, " His name is Jack Eltherington. Your just in time, he's actually about to be transferred."
"Well," Nathan laughed, "I've come a long way to get here anyway. My lift out of the city will be arriving tomorrow, maybe I can arrange to meet him." Nathan attempted to come across as though he was just business.
"Well, good luck. Here is his contact number in case," The man handed the former naval captain the slip of paper he'd been writing on.
" Thankyou very much, you've been most helpful."
"Of course. Good luck with your article. Now if you don't mind making your own way out...."
"No that's fine," Nathan nodded in mock understanding, business, he reminded himself.
Bridger left the room feeling as though he were making incredible progress, his heart told him he was almost there but his mind could find no reason to make him feel so intensely sure. As he waited in the elevator he tucked the paper away safely into his pocket. As the doors opened for the ground floor he made his way hastily toward the exit. Unexpectedly, a large man approached him and unthreateningly took his arm.
"Hello, I'm General Vishnore. May I have a quick word with you?"
"Uh, no actually I'm in a hurry can we make an appointment?" Nathan stated calmly.
"It regards your son, Mr Bridger." Vishnore whispered, almost evilly.
Nathan desperately tried to hide a look of shock that jolted his calm demeanour. How could anyone know who he was? "I'm sorry, I don't know who you think I am but I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, I believe you do."
Bridger hesitated, he had already enlisted the Seaquest's assistance and they would be docking to pick him up in less than 17 hours. Besides, he was anxious to find all he could about his son. Although every instinct told him to ignore the man, he didn't want to pass up an opportunity for information. "Alright," he eyed the man with interest, "What do you want?"
Vishnore lead him down a deserted hall to a quiet room. There were two chairs and he obliged him to sit. Nathan agreed, eager to continue the meeting as quickly as possible.
"Mr Bridger," Vishnore began as he sat down, "I strongly recommend for your son's sake and for yours that you discontinue your search. As far as you are concerned, the man you are looking for is dead."
There was a lengthy pause. Nathan considered acting completely oblivious to what he was talking about but in the end his curiosity got the better of him, "And why is that?" Nathan queried, cautiously.
"That question alone endangers your son."
"That's an empty threat," Bridger stated, rising to leave the room, although he wasn't so sure, "but thanks for the warning," he added sarcastically, satisfied that he wasn't going to get anything but deterrents from this man, he turned to leave.
"Oh, Captain," Vishnore removed a small slip so paper form his pocket and Bridger turned, "that may be so," he handed it to him, "but this, most definitely, is not."
Vishnore left the room and Bridger looked after him. He casually glanced at the paper, ready to throw it in the bin and froze dead in his tracks.
"Damn it," he cursed, fear gripping his heart.
He looked tentatively at the photograph on the paper and the words unscripted underneath it, Ens. Lucas Wolenczak. Instead of fury, it was utter bewilderment and deep concern that rose up inside him as he left the building. He felt physically ill at thought of Lucas being involved in this and wondered how the hell Vishnore knew about his affection for Lucas. Obviously this guy wasn't just some messenger under orders to steer him away from Robert. They had dug deep, and they knew more than Bridger thought they would. This was going to be more difficult and dangerous than he first thought.
In spite of Bridger's meeting with Vishnore, he was determined to push the thought of Lucas' involvement far out of his mind. There were too many more important things to worry about than the games of secret services. He'd learned that with Section Seven.
The manglev came to a holt outside the communications room. Lucas Wolenczak, completely emersed in the computer readouts Hudson had ordered him to analyse, walked through the doors oblivious to the stillness of the room. Suddenly, a man jumped out from behind him and roughly wrapped a hand around his mouth. Lucas dropped his papers in suprise.
"Shutup," the man whispered holding Lucas' arm. Despite the terrified look in his eyes that said 'What the hell?', Lucas obeyed. The man gave a nod of his head and another man appeared preparing duct tape. At this, Lucas panicked and began to struggle. The man holding him pulled a stun gun out of his belt and shocked him. Lucas gave a muffled cry and his knees buckled in pain. Before he was able to recover, duct tape secured his hands behind his back and tapped his mouth shut. Lucas' weak attempts to break free as they dragged him away rewarded him with the intensely unpleasant sensation of electrical shocks.
This story was original when I started it, but I think by now the idea would have been used somewhere else as well. Please tell me how I can improve this and whether I should bother finishing it off.
When Bridger finds his son, his joy is short lived when an enemy threatens both Robert and Lucas....
Bridger stood over his young grandson as he slept quietly. He eventually pulled his gaze away and shut the child's door. He sighed tiredly and walked over to the computer in the main study room. Switching it on, he thought back to his beloved family. The child in the next room gave him a renewed sense of hope, and this afternoon he believed he may have found some answers to his son's disappearance. Deeply buried files that he'd been able to draw up through various contacts, some as important as section seven, suggested that his son had accepted a position which meant that his life at the time was to be erased. His name, status, file, all traces of Robert Bridger were gone. Nathan's son was declared deceased. This also explained why the body had never been recovered. Nathan assumed that Michael had been born after Robert discovered that his father was 'dead' and considered it safe enough to attempt a normal life by having a family. What on earth could have convinced him to makes such a sacrifice?
Nathan pondered over the whole deeply disturbing situation, fumbling with a small disc which he inserted into the drive. After a few moments, the section seven encoda appeared on the screen. He began a search for 'Robert Bridger'. This new information did not all add up. Three months after Robert had been declared deceased, his signature had been applied to several documents. It wasn't his son's name that had been signed but forensic scans showed that it was definitely his hand writing. Nathan shut his eyes in frustration when he found that there was very little information about which documents had been signed. However, it was obvious that they had certainly not been signed through section seven. In fact, it appeared that the content that Nathan could find was almost anti-section seven and although of a military nature, not UEO. There were specific links to the media and cover-ups of attempts to expose various section seven projects. The signatures were the only indication of Robert's activities. Nathan carefully took note of the small time newspaper location which was linked to several of the unidentified documents. He shakily removed the disc and tossed it into the old fashioned open fire. His body tingled with excitement and fear as he drew closer to finding his long lost son.
General Dante Vishnore nervously twisted his fingers behind his back as he spoke to one of his agents. "Are you sure that's what his name was?" his voice slightly uneven.
The response of the agent made it clear that nervousness was very out of character for the General, "Of course sir, the sources were very specific. It appears that Nathan Bridger has been receiving information regarding the disappearance of his son."
"And what of the contacts?" He demanded, his usual intimidating and booming demeanour returning.
" They are being dealt with, sir."
"Good. Does Agent Eltherington know any of this?"
The agent appeared very confused, "No sir, he doesn't work in this division."
"Yes, I know. But see to it that he does not even receive a hint of this information," he ordered, then as an after thought, " And have him and his wife transferred."
"Yes sir."
Vishnore moved over to the com and called upon an unknown source. "Alright, I've spoken with the agent in charge over the problem. It appears that the very source I used to blackmail Eltherington is making trouble. See to it that no one aside from you or I learns Eltherington's real name. He is much to valuable agent to lose, and knowledge of the way he came to agree to join in the first place may be the end of us. It has been too many years just to throw away all our work." Vishnore smiled, "But in case we can't play them off one another for long, I've done some digging and I have a little.....back up plan."
Lucas gave a sigh of apathy. There was barely any activity on the bridge as the borders they were patrolling were quiet. Lucas' excitement registered in his flat, bored tone.
"I'm hungry." At the terminal next to him Loni, busily attempting to flirt with the temporary Lieutenant Zach Biggs, didn't look at him, "Yeah, well, I'm sure you can go to lunch soon."
Lucas became agitated, realising that he had no one to talk to.
Biggs strolled over to her giving her his 'super-hero' grin, "Careful," he whispered, " with a smile like that you might loose your virginity some day." Obviously he was provoking her. Ford over heard and looked up from where he was standing near the captain's chair, obviously unimpressed, glaring at Loni, daring her to flirt back. Loni responded by adjusting her posture so her breasts protruded provocatively.
" So," she said sweetly pretending to pay more attention to her terminal, " You think that I'm a virgin." Lucas was annoyed at having such sickening adult games displayed out in front of him.
Rudely, and unexpectedly Lucas stated, "Of course she's a virgin," he stared pointedly and cockily at Biggs, "she's an only child."
The response Lucas received was of a mixture of shock ranging from unimpressed to amused. Loni was shocked into muteness, but recovered to turn red with embarrassment.
Commander Ford was not in the mood for Lucas' attitude, but before he could correct him O'Neill interrupted him, "Captain on the bridge". The relaxed mood stiffened as Hudson made his way over to Ford.
"I've just had a call from MaGath. It appears that Mr Bridger has requested our assistance...," Hudson stated and then added in an irritable tone, " yet again."
"What's it about, sir?" Lucas asked from his station, ignoring his captain's last two words.
"It appears that he has found his son." Hudson stated. Lucas' face light up. A feeling of pleasant suprise arose in the air. Hudson's face revealed a pleasant expression as he left the bridge. Although he was some what annoyed that Bridger was continuously involving his crew in private vendetta's, he was pleased for him, the positive assignment should hopefully draw away some of the grimness of the tour which is just what they all needed.
"I'm sorry I can't help you. We had an agent of this organisation trying to find information on this topic about 15 years ago. If you like I could give you his name and you could speak to him."
"Oh that would be fantastic, thankyou."
Nathan had made his way into the editors office posing as a reporter from another, more prestigious newspaper. He had asked about the old articles regarding Robert's original disappearance.
The man moved over to his desk and took out a piece of paper and a pen. Bending over to write he said, " His name is Jack Eltherington. Your just in time, he's actually about to be transferred."
"Well," Nathan laughed, "I've come a long way to get here anyway. My lift out of the city will be arriving tomorrow, maybe I can arrange to meet him." Nathan attempted to come across as though he was just business.
"Well, good luck. Here is his contact number in case," The man handed the former naval captain the slip of paper he'd been writing on.
" Thankyou very much, you've been most helpful."
"Of course. Good luck with your article. Now if you don't mind making your own way out...."
"No that's fine," Nathan nodded in mock understanding, business, he reminded himself.
Bridger left the room feeling as though he were making incredible progress, his heart told him he was almost there but his mind could find no reason to make him feel so intensely sure. As he waited in the elevator he tucked the paper away safely into his pocket. As the doors opened for the ground floor he made his way hastily toward the exit. Unexpectedly, a large man approached him and unthreateningly took his arm.
"Hello, I'm General Vishnore. May I have a quick word with you?"
"Uh, no actually I'm in a hurry can we make an appointment?" Nathan stated calmly.
"It regards your son, Mr Bridger." Vishnore whispered, almost evilly.
Nathan desperately tried to hide a look of shock that jolted his calm demeanour. How could anyone know who he was? "I'm sorry, I don't know who you think I am but I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, I believe you do."
Bridger hesitated, he had already enlisted the Seaquest's assistance and they would be docking to pick him up in less than 17 hours. Besides, he was anxious to find all he could about his son. Although every instinct told him to ignore the man, he didn't want to pass up an opportunity for information. "Alright," he eyed the man with interest, "What do you want?"
Vishnore lead him down a deserted hall to a quiet room. There were two chairs and he obliged him to sit. Nathan agreed, eager to continue the meeting as quickly as possible.
"Mr Bridger," Vishnore began as he sat down, "I strongly recommend for your son's sake and for yours that you discontinue your search. As far as you are concerned, the man you are looking for is dead."
There was a lengthy pause. Nathan considered acting completely oblivious to what he was talking about but in the end his curiosity got the better of him, "And why is that?" Nathan queried, cautiously.
"That question alone endangers your son."
"That's an empty threat," Bridger stated, rising to leave the room, although he wasn't so sure, "but thanks for the warning," he added sarcastically, satisfied that he wasn't going to get anything but deterrents from this man, he turned to leave.
"Oh, Captain," Vishnore removed a small slip so paper form his pocket and Bridger turned, "that may be so," he handed it to him, "but this, most definitely, is not."
Vishnore left the room and Bridger looked after him. He casually glanced at the paper, ready to throw it in the bin and froze dead in his tracks.
"Damn it," he cursed, fear gripping his heart.
He looked tentatively at the photograph on the paper and the words unscripted underneath it, Ens. Lucas Wolenczak. Instead of fury, it was utter bewilderment and deep concern that rose up inside him as he left the building. He felt physically ill at thought of Lucas being involved in this and wondered how the hell Vishnore knew about his affection for Lucas. Obviously this guy wasn't just some messenger under orders to steer him away from Robert. They had dug deep, and they knew more than Bridger thought they would. This was going to be more difficult and dangerous than he first thought.
In spite of Bridger's meeting with Vishnore, he was determined to push the thought of Lucas' involvement far out of his mind. There were too many more important things to worry about than the games of secret services. He'd learned that with Section Seven.
The manglev came to a holt outside the communications room. Lucas Wolenczak, completely emersed in the computer readouts Hudson had ordered him to analyse, walked through the doors oblivious to the stillness of the room. Suddenly, a man jumped out from behind him and roughly wrapped a hand around his mouth. Lucas dropped his papers in suprise.
"Shutup," the man whispered holding Lucas' arm. Despite the terrified look in his eyes that said 'What the hell?', Lucas obeyed. The man gave a nod of his head and another man appeared preparing duct tape. At this, Lucas panicked and began to struggle. The man holding him pulled a stun gun out of his belt and shocked him. Lucas gave a muffled cry and his knees buckled in pain. Before he was able to recover, duct tape secured his hands behind his back and tapped his mouth shut. Lucas' weak attempts to break free as they dragged him away rewarded him with the intensely unpleasant sensation of electrical shocks.